AKIPRESS.COM - “More than 60% of the 4th-graders in Kyrgyzstan could not reach the minimal acceptable level in reading comprehension, math, and homeland studies,” according to the research findings of the Center for Educational Assessment and Teaching Methods.

The National Sample-Based Assessment (NSBA) survey was conducted in Kyrgyzstan for the third time with the aim to gain an objective and scientifically grounded insight on what the students know and can do based on the country’s existing educational standard and on which factors have significant impact on the educational outcomes.

In 2014, the third round of the survey was conducted by the order of the Ministry of Education and Science within the READ Project. The third round of the survey focused on the fourth grade only. The subject domains used in the third round were the same as in the preceding two rounds: Reading Comprehension, Math, and Homeland Studies (basic natural sciences).

The results of the survey identify the strengths and weaknesses of the contemporary secondary education, its most urgent needs, and the improvements that have occurred since the previous rounds of the survey.

Methodology

The survey of 2014 was conducted based on a stratified sample of students throughout the Kyrgyz Republic. The following strata were used for selecting the student sample: school category (Bishkek, regional centers and small towns, rural schools), language of instruction (Kyrgyz, Russian, and Uzbek), and administrative regions of the Kyrgyz Republic.

The instruments used in the National Sample-Based Assessment (NSBA) survey included tests and questionnaires for students, school administrators, and teachers.

The sample for the third round of the NSBA survey in 2014 included 204 secondary schools. The total number of students participating in the survey was 5 871.

Findings

All three rounds of the National Sample-Based Assessment of the academic achievement of students that completed their primary education (the surveys were conducted at the end of the academic year) demonstrated that over 60% of students do not perform even the minimal acceptable reading and comprehension skills when dealing with texts similar to those they read in classrooms daily.

In 2014, a slight improvement of the reading comprehension abilities occurred, compared to the results of the second round in 2009. The percentage of students in the below basic level decreased by 3.3% and almost matched the results of the first round of 2007.

Above basic and advanced level students did not change significantly. 34.7% of participating students achieved in the Level 2 and above. However, the total percentage of the strongest students constituted together only 8.5% of all participating students.

In 2014, the results of the fourth-graders in math decreased again and, basically, went back to the level of 2007, with a slight tendency to decline further. The decrease of the results is especially noticeable in

levels 3 and 4. Level 3 (above basic level) included only 6.3% of students, which is less than in the second round of survey by 10.6%. Only 1.7% of students reached Level 4 (advanced).

The analysis of the students’ results in homeland studies in 2014 showed the improvement of results that had been detected in the second round (2009) against the first round (2007) was replaced by a tendency towards declination, although this tendency is significantly weaker for this subject domain.

The percentage of students in Level 1 increased by 3.2%, accompanied by a decrease of the percentage of students in levels 3 and 4. Like in the other two subject domains, the percentage of students in levels 3 and 4, which include the most successful learners, is very low.

The subject domain of Homeland Studies includes the disciplines that, firstly, prepare a child for the life in the modern environment and, secondly, give him basic skills and knowledge for further learning of the natural sciences in secondary and higher grades (Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Astronomy, and Geography).